


Reflections on Beginning Again

by TheSoleWookieCourier



Category: Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: F/M, Sierra Madre (Fallout)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-13 19:41:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28908750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSoleWookieCourier/pseuds/TheSoleWookieCourier
Summary: This story was written for @bluthefrog on tumblr for the 2020 Fallout Secret Santa Event!Of all of the people who have stumbled into the Sierra Madre, few have been corrupted by the lure of the treasure of its vault as Dean Domino. But when a certain Courier asks a question, Dean reflects on the casino once promised...
Relationships: Frederick Sinclair/Vera Keyes
Kudos: 2
Collections: Gift Writings





	Reflections on Beginning Again

The Courier sat down, leaning against the wall of the plaza fountain, sighing in relief after being on their feet all day. Here in the resort town of the Sierra Madre, the blue glow of the hologram of a woman that stood as the centerpiece of the plaza in the center of the fountain seemed to be the only place in the entire god-forsaken ruins where there could be a modicum of peace. They removed the helmet of the armor they had scavenged from the police station in the Villa… 

_ “How long ago was that?” _ They thought as they glanced up at the sky, squinting to try and see through the red haze of the Cloud. After several seconds of trying to discern the time of day, the Courier sighed and looked down at the Pip-boy on their arm. The device informed them that it had been several days since their adventure into the Villa Police Department and meeting the nightkin God.

“Still trying to figure out how the day works in the Sierra Madre?” Sneered a suave voice from across the courtyard. The Courier looked up meet the disproving gaze of a ghoul in an ancient tuxedo and sunglasses. The glow of the hologram reflected in the shades, turning them a pale blue color. It wasn’t hard for the Courier to imagine the ghoul to be a looker two hundred years ago, especially with the man’s pre-War face plastered on posters all over the resort area. The Courier felt several acidic retorts spring to the tip of their tongue, but decided against speaking. Dean Domino’s ego was frail enough as it was.

“The days just kind of blend together.” The Courier replied simply, their voice tinged with exhaustion. Dean chuckled darkly as he withdrew a cigarette and matchbook from inside his suit coat. The flare of the lit match reflected in the ghoul’s sunglasses like two miniature balls of hellfire, completely obscuring the reflection of the hologram.

“Try keeping the days separated for two hundred years.” He drawled, sounding bored. He took a drag on the cigarette and exhaled, blowing a smoke ring that quickly dissipated into the hazy air. The Courier studied the ghoul’s face, questions forming.

“What’s kept you here? Kept you sane or these two hundred years?” They asked the ancient lounge singer.

Dena took a long drag of the cigarette, letting the acrid taste of the old tobacco smoke sit on his tongue. It was one of the few things he could still taste. He broke his gaze with The Courier and looked to the hologram. The Courier noticed an almost imperceptible change in Dean’s face and body language as his gaze landed on the face of the hologram, a small scowl forming and disappearing in an instant.

“Let’s just say… I have some… unfinished business…” Dean answered deliberately as his mind drifted.

* * *

“I won’t do it, Dean!” Vera Keyes cried as Dean Domino snapped the door behind them shut. “I love Frederick, and it has eaten me apart! I can’t hurt him anymore!” Dean whirled on his heel, removing his trademark sunglasses to more fully level his furious gaze at the starlet.

“What do you mean, you won’t do it?” He snarled, his eyes hard. His pencil mustache quivered. Vera flinched, but stood up straight. For a moment, Dean thought he noticed a tremble shake the young woman, but he dismissed the thought.

“I… I can’t go through with the heist.” Vera answered, her voice shaky but determined. Dean grit his teeth.

“We are this close,” he hissed, holding his thumb and index finger very close together. “This close to getting away with all of the money to keep up set for life and to put that stuck up bastard Sinclair in his place, and you decide to grow a  **_HEART_ ** ?!” He roared the last bit. Vera was sure that the walls and roof were going to shake apart from the fury.

“Dean…” Vera started. Dean raised his hand, the back of his hand in a position as if he was about to strike the young woman. Vera flinched again, raising her hands to protect herself. Dean dropped his hand, and pointed menacingly at the starlet.

“Don’t make me have to let the world know about your little… indiscretions.” Dean whispered through grit teeth. Vera looked thoroughly cowed and nodded meekly, eyes beginning to glisten with tears.

“Good.” Dean said nonchalantly, replacing his sunglasses on his face. The black lenses reflected Vera’s reflection, and for a moment, the young woman felt like she was staring into the very depths of hell, and that she was too at gone into the abyss.

“I’ll see you tomorrow evening.” Dean continued as if nothing was wrong. He opened the door, and with a nod, stepped out into the hallway.

“Hello, Dean!” Came a cheerful voice behind the lounge singer. Dean rolled his eyes and groaned internally as a hand clapped on his shoulder.

“Hey there, Fred.” Dean grinned, his face masking the contempt for the hotelier Fredrick Sinclair. “How are you doing?”

“I’m doing well, Dean. How’s Vera?” Frederick asked earnestly. “She in a good mood?” He said with a wink and a nudge.

Internally, Dean was imagining the look on Sinclair’s face when he discovered that everything that mattered most to him was in Dean’s possession, the look of a man who was completely defeated.  _ “Serves the smug bastard right.” _ Grinned the singer wickedly. “Yeah, she looked like she was in a good mood.” Dean said aloud, a knowing grin on his face. “Go on in and see your beautiful lover.” He said, opening the door to Vera’s room. He caught a glimpse of the starlet and gave her a quick glare before ushering the hotelier into the room.

Standing alone in the opulent hallway, Dean laughed aloud as he began walking through the large suite towards the elevator to the lobby. He laughed the entire way out of the hotel. He stopped laughing once he reached the plaza at the entrance of the resort. A large column stood in the center of the fountain. Remembering something, Dean pulled out a pocket watch from the vest of his tuxedo. He looked up and watched a blue form flicker to life on the top of the column. He was pleasantly surprised to see the form of Vera Keyes flicker into existence.

_ “Welcome to the Sierra Madre, where we invite you to Begin Again.” _ The hologram smiled pleasantly from the pedestal as the pre-recorded voice of the starlet came softly out of speakers somewhere in the plaza. Looking back at the hotel in the distance, Dean Domino grinned.

“Tomorrow,” he said softly to himself, his smile growing bigger. “My life will begin again.”

* * *

The memory faded to the back of Dean’s mind as reality stripped away the beauty and grandeur of the resort. Gone was the clear autumn night, with stars glittering in the night sky, replaced by the toxic red haze of the Cloud. Once pristine white stucco walls had cracked and yellowed, their condition looking even worse under the few flickering lights that remained in the resort. Walls had crumbled, leaving black maws into buildings that held nothing but horrors. Even Dean had rotted, his flesh necrotic and shriveled around his muscles. And yet, in the distance, the outline of the Sierra Madre Hotel cut through the haze and darkness, standing defiantly like a middle finger in the ancient ghoul’s face, seeming none the worse for wear.

Dean scowled, and he glanced to the hologram of his long-dead partner-in-crime. His face softened slightly as he remembered how sweet and naive Vera had been when he first met her. He looked back to the Sierra Madre. Even though the speakers in the plaza had long stopped working, he could still hear Vera’s voice as though she was standing right next to him.  _ “Welcome to the Sierra Madre, where we invite you to Begin Again.” _ The thought of the impending heist put together by Father Elijah made Dean smile wickedly once more.

“Oh… I will…” He murmured to himself. Turning to The Courier, he smiled pleasantly, his face once again masking his true intentions as he asked “Shall we begin again?”


End file.
